On Wednesday 29th March 2017, the day we invoked Article 50, Julian Sturdy, after declaring his interest as a farmer, asked the Prime Minister at PMQs for reassurance that following Brexit, "agriculture and the environment, which are closely linked, will not become a sacrificial lamb in any future trade negotiations?" (HERE Column 285).
I presume he was concerned about the CAP or rather what might replace it after 2020. G E Sturdy of Westgate Farm, LS22 4EN, where he is a partner, benefited from the CAP to the tune of €292,039 (HERE and HERE) between 1999 and 2009. A Mr J Sturdy of Manor Farm but oddly at the same postcode benefited by €166,127 between the same dates (HERE, HERE and HERE). I assume this is Julian but I may be wrong. No doubt there are good crop-growing reasons for two farms sharing the same address, although personally I struggle to see what they might be.
In his register of interests he cites Westgate farm LS22 4EN where he is a partner, but doesn't mention at all Manor farm LS22 4EN where someone named J Sturdy claims money under the CAP. His entry for July 2015 is HERE. Either there is another J Sturdy or it actually is him, but he draws no income from it. It's all a little strange but I expect there is a perfectly good explanation.
However, on 7th July 2014 during a debate on the CAP Julian Sturdy spoke in the House (Hansard Col 122 HERE) and seemed keen to reform it back to food production, wanting more to be grown here in the UK.
“To go back to the environmental schemes, sadly, I fear that we are starting to tilt the balance of CAP reform too far from the primary aim of farmers, which is ultimately to produce food. [...] Agricultural policy in both the UK and throughout the rest of the EU has moved away from maximising food production towards rewarding environmentally friendly practices".
“The UK is currently 68% self-sufficient in terms of food that can be produced here. Sadly, there has been a steady decline in that level over the past 20 years. Nearly a quarter of the food that is eaten in the UK is imported, when it could be produced here”.
“CAP should give more weight to sustainable intensification because we have to produce more food on a finite amount of land in a sustainable way”.
I am not sure what "sustainable intensification" means but I assume we may see a return of food mountains. Is Brexit likely to benefit Mr Sturdy? Who knows? It will depend on whether the government will want to look after the consumer (lower world prices) or the producer (more subsidy to protect UK agriculture). Whatever happens an MP will be in a better position than most to guide the debate and perhaps see more generous support.
There was a slightly optimistic report about the post Brexit future of British agriculture from the NFU before the referendum that you can read HERE and a more pessimistic one by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board from October 2016 HERE.
